The Hammers had a favourable run of fixtures and the pressure was on them to use this period between the start of November and the end of 2018 to get some wins and get up the table.

The Hammers have lost just one of their last seven games in the Premier League and that was to Pep Guardiola's rampant Manchester City outfit but Pellegrini's side needed to pick up points and they have done.

Have the performances been perfect? Maybe not as they conceded two to Palace and one to Cardiff but that's probably being pedantic.

This group of players have hit their stride at exactly the right time and it's showing. Despite the injury to Marko Arnautovic against Cardiff, the Hammers still scored three goals for a third consecutive game.

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Going forward, this team are dynamic as nine goals in three games demonstrates. They do still look overrun in midfield at times but Declan Rice bails the team out, while Fabian Balbuena was surprisingly shaky against Palace.

That said, when they are on the offensive the Hammers are extremely pleasing on the eye and look like they can score whenever they feel like it.

Breaking news - Declan Rice is a special talent

West Ham teenager Declan Rice (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

The 19-year-old was superb against Crystal Palace and it simply doesn't come as a surprise anymore.

The teenager strolled around the London Stadium like he owned the place and put in a virtuoso display in the victory full of composure, intent, and class.

It’s no wonder that the top four in the Premier League are sniffing around the Academy graduate.

Rice’s tackle on Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the first half on Saturday was, dare we say it, Bobby Moore-esque. Wan-Bissaka is quicker than Rice and was seemingly off to the races, only for the Hammers teenager to time his tackle to perfection.

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It was from behind as well, he could have easily given away a free kick and probably got a yellow card for his troubles but he didn't, it was a stunning tackle to stop a dangerous attack.

Rice’s contract situation is the talk of so much debate and despite the Hammers brass and their reservations after seeing what has happened to Reece Oxford, Rice is a talent the club simply can not afford to let slip through their fingers.

A man in form, Felipe Anderson has found his feet in the Premier League

The Brazilian winger is bang in form right now as he has taken the lead at the top of the West Ham goalscoring charts.

Anderson curled home his fifth goal in six games on Saturday against Palace and that is the same number of goals he had scored in his previous 34 for the Hammers and former club Lazio combined.

His goal on Satursay typified just how full of confidence he is right now. Picking the ball up on the inside left channel, he sauntered towards the box and Aaron Wan-Bissaka before using the right back a shield to curl home quite brilliantly into the top corner.

No goalkeeper in the world would have saved it, it was that pinpoint.

He was superb against Palace, especially in the second half where gave Wan-Bissaka a really rough afternoon. He's scored the same number of goals in his last six games than he did in the previous 34 for Lazio and the Hammers and has now well and truly found his feet in the Premier League.

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The Mexican was a peripheral figure for the majority of the game against Palace but he produced the most Javier Hernandez thing ever to become integral.

Chicharito was the quickest to react to Felipe Anderson’s free kick, saved by Wayne Hennessey, and prodded into the roof of the net from six yards out to out the home side in front. 100% of his Premier League goals have come from inside the box and the way he comes alive in the 18-yard area often beggars belief.

That’s three goals in three games now for Chicharito and he is one of those players who might not seem to be having much of an impact at all but all of a sudden, finds the net and you wonder where on earth he had been before that.

The Hammers midfielder hasn’t scored a goal in the Premier League for more than 700 days until he scored against the Eagles. And it was a peach too, beautifully curling a half volley past Hennessey to give the home side parity.

It was no less than the resurgent Scotsman had deserved considering his brilliant form over the last couple of weeks. He just wants to contribute to the team and he is doing it in a big way.

Snodgrass, or "McMessi" as he is now affectionately known, is bordering on unstoppable for Manuel Pellegrini and you cannot help but be thrilled for him after what he went through previously in the capital.

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